Bermuda are sitting third in their group after the first day of racing at the Star Sailors League Gold Cup qualifiers.

Led by captain Rockal Evans at the Pan American qualifying competition in Rio de Janeiro, the Bermuda team finished second behind Mexico in race one and fourth behind Cuba, the Mexicans and El Salvador in race two after blowing the start.

With four races left to sail over the next couple of days, Bermuda are on four points, three behind Mexico, with Cuba on six and El Salvador trailing the four-team group on three points.

Only the group winner is guaranteed a spot in the Gold Cup, the equivalent of football’s world cup, with the teams finishing in second and third in the two Pan American qualifying groups competing in a single qualification race that will be held following conclusion of the fleet stage.

After returning to shore following a couple of hours on the water, Bermuda crew member Emily Nagel was keen to take the positives out of the first two races.

“It was a big day of learning out there with a lot of positives,” Nagel said.

“The racing, as expected, is really close and there’s no room for errors. We had some great moments with good speed in the first race and all of our manoeuvres through the day were smooth and well co-ordinated. All day downwind we were flying with a really smooth, locked-in mode.

“There were some mistakes with our second start which we paid dearly for. With a slightly late entry into the starting box we were further from the line than we wanted and with a big left shift in the final minute we ran out of options.

“We took a gamble and headed out to the right but no magic was found. Our downwind speed was almost enough to take out second and third at the finish but not quite.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted in race two but it shows a lot of promise for the next few days with just a bit of work to do on communication and timing.”